“Complications in watches are often very difficult to read, consequently, Bell & Ross has paid particular attention to creating its complications in an easy-to-read design,” Carlos Rosillo, the Bell & Ross President explains.
“When you look at our two latest models, the Jumping Hour with power reserve and the Mystery Diamond, both have excellent readability. Our philosophy in our approach to the new complications is to create something different but at the same make meaningful timepieces.
“Functionality and precision are often ignored in watchmaking. Some watches are so complicated it is almost too difficult to read the time. With our Jumping Hour, we are offering another approach to reading the time. Huygens invented the second hand on a watch, prior to that there was a single hand and that’s what we have returned to, the precise reading of the minutes. It’s a sort of clin d’œil, an acknowledgment to the past. These new Bell & Ross timepieces offer tradition combined with modernity!”

Jumping Hour
The first ‘first’ is the Limited edition of the platinum Vintage 123 Jumping Hour Double Subdial with power reserve. The result of a continued close collaboration with the Swiss master Vincent Calabrese, this brand new complication offers a simple and logical means of reading the time: a central minute hand, a single large aperture at 12 o’clock to indicate the hour and a power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock.
Unlike other jumping hour watches, this model has a shorter minute hand than usual in order that the wearer can easily read the hour on the hour when the hand passes across the hour aperture.
Since the mechanism for the Jumping Hour indicator consumes a substantial amount of power because of its size, the power reserve indicator is not merely an additional complication or a visual luxury if you like, it is a necessity for the wearer in the functioning of the watch. Another feature of this model is that the hour adjustments using the crown can be turned backwards as well as forwards, thus facilitating the wearer’s task if for some reason the hour hand is advanced too far.
The watch has a mechanical automatic movement (28,800 alternations per hour) with a 40-hour power reserve and each movement is individually made by Vincent Calabrese. Since there is no additional plate, the watch is very slim. There are sapphire crystals front and back, an 18 carat gold ivory or grey guilloché dial, a screw-down crown and caseback and the watch is water-resistant to 100 metres.

Mystery Diamond
Bell & Ross have taken the same approach to readability with the new ladies’ watch, the Mystery Diamond White – although it will almost certainly also appeal to many male watch aficianodos.
In this model, the hour hand is replaced by a single diamond to indicate the hour. Set into a sapphire crystal attached to the central axis and between the dial and the sapphire, the 1.5 mm diameter diamond points to the hour thus giving the watch its ‘mysterious’ appearance.
The watch is in stainless steel and has an
automatic mechanical movement. The bezel is diamond-set with either one or two rows of diamonds (other options are without a diamond-set bezel or a black dial) and there is a domed sapphire crystal. The watch is water-resistant to 50 metres.

With these new models, Bell & Ross maintains its established style and look and although these two innovations offer something completely different to its exceptional sports collections, they are coherent with the Bell & Ross philosophy of readability, performance, precision and water-resistance.

Photo: Vintage 123 Jumping Hour Double Subdial with power reserve and Mystery Diamond White.